The Path
by Incapability
Summary: There was a path ... a hidden path ... walked on by the strangest of creatures ... the path existed only in the mind of those who searched for it ... let me tell you about this path ...
1. Prologue

_The Path_

_There is a path ... a hidden path … walked on by the strangest of creatures … this path exists only in the mind of those who search for it … and if you believe in it … if you know what to do and where to look … where to go … you will find it …_

_As long as you walk on it … the path shines clearly before you … but if you leave it … you will never find it again … you will be lost in the world … chased by reality … longing for the lost path … that is why few dare enter it … to lose the paradise that lies one step ahead of you … more than mortals can stand … they dream of it … in their hearts they know it is there … they still know … but they lost the key to it … fear made them lose it … they lost the key inside themselves …_

_And so the path is left to those who still dare enter it … it is their path … small and bright … tall and airy … dark and cold … they walk the path unseen by mortals … forgotten … forgotten out of fear … watching the world turn around them … as they watch it, they cease to be a part of it … those who watch are not seen … unseen is unknown … _

_They cannot leave their path … a mortal entering … the one to free them … their path leads them away … once so close … now so far … the lost path … the path we hold the key to … the path that begins in our hearts … look for it, and you can find it … you could free those lost wanderers … those forgotten wanderers …_

_Let me tell you about this path … let me tell you about the Elvenpath …_


	2. Enter the path

The Elvenpath. A route between two worlds. The world as you know it, and another world, a forgotten world. The land of magic, the kingdom of the fairies, the elves, the sidhé, the Tuatha. We have many names. But what are they to us? No one speaks them anymore, no one calls out to us in the night. We are forgotten. Our kingdom is forgotten. And so we are trapped between the worlds, one forgotten and destroyed, the other denying our existence, refusing us entrance.

We cannot fight to come back. We have nothing and no one to fight against. The last who knew of us have died. They were those who trapped us in this path, they made us be forgotten.

And so we wander, each step takes us further away from your memory. Only our shadow remains, lurking behind the stories you tell at night, our voice a hidden whisper behind the wind that makes your fires dance.  
But you, you do not look, you do not listen. Only a few catch a glimpse of a movement in the corner of their eyes, a strangely formed cloud, a whirl of mist, only a few can hear what we try to tell you, because only a few care to listen.

Yes, we try to call you, to remind you of what once was. But you won't listen … and our path takes us even further away, our voices grow fainter, our shadows vanish, one by one …

Those few … those few who listen … the could find the entrance to our path … they could free us.

You, child of the Earth, you have listened. You have heard the voices of the lost wanderers.

Now come, come, take my hand and follow me. Take my hand and I will show you the Elvenpath.


	3. The journey begins

Long, long ago, the path to the land of magic was walked on by men and fairies alike. Our peoples lived in silent agreement.  
You worshipped us, and we protected you.  
The soil was rich and offered more than enough to live for everybody.

Life was to every ones contentment.

Your worship gave us strength and power, a power you both feared and relied on. Our people was said to be easily angered. And once this anger was unleashed …

But we were not ungrateful. Whenever this country was threatened, we would raise the spirits of the land, we would join our forces with yours.

When your battle seemed already lost, we would swoop down on your enemies, and our cries would turn their hearts to ice. I myself would lead your armies to the battlefield, the Mistress of Ravens, and I would weep for those who never came back, a mother to all of them.

My voice, often compared to the black birds of Death, would indeed raise the ravens, and they darkened the sky behind you.  
How well I remember the looks of unbelieving horror that filled your enemies eyes when they realised what they were dealing with. Their disbelief as they watched the sky turn from grey to black, hidden behind a waving sea of wings, above a mass of human bodies that flooded the field, clad, if at all, in nothing but a fur, the faces covered with blue patterns, the meaning of which they did not always understand, and the eyes wide with the madness that comes with slaughter.

Never were our peoples more alike than in the high of battle. Never were we closer than in those moments when we were taken away by the sensation of power that one only feels when lives are taken.

It is important, Child, that I tell you this before we begin our journey. We have only walked the path a few steps yet, and already it has shown you more than you could see in a lifetime, and more than you could understand in an eternity.

On one side lies the past, not always clear, often hidden behind lies. On the other side we might catch a glimpse at the future that keeps blinking out of the mist of time surrounding us. Each step takes us away to another time.

There was a time, when my people were still powerful, in which you could choose freely which way you wanted to walk this path. Now, as we are forgotten, condemned by my own son, there is only one direction: away, away from your world, straight into nowhere.

Your presence could be the key to the way back. You brought me back to the beginning of the path when I had already proceeded so far that I had almost reached this place we all dread so much: nowhere.

But I am getting lost in things you will learn later. It is dangerous to remain too long on this path without moving on. I have for now told you all you need to know. I have told you how our peoples used to join in battle. You already caught glimpses of the fights of the past.

Now let me show you the first time everything changed. Let me show you the first time foreign powers were brought to this land and remained.  
Let me show you those who were the first ones to make our power crumble:

The Romans and their Gods.


	4. Chapter 4

Listen, my Child, listen to the storm. Watch how he makes the waves dance to his roaring music. They love the storm more than any other being; he gives them power, and only with his help can they remind mankind that some things will never be conquered.

Not by mortals.

I used to rule over winds and storms, once, back when our journey begins …

And it begins there, on the white cliffs, where I am waiting for them, ready to defend what I have sworn to protect until the last breath leaves me. I did so as long as I could. Some would not let me and turned away from me.

But not those that were waiting with me on that day. They never betrayed me, and they fought our enemy to their deaths. I was waiting for them, surrounded by my faithful Lords. Whom we were awaiting, you ask?

Come closer, and listen …

"_Lady", Bendeigid called thorugh the storm, "Lady, how can you be so sure that the Romans are really coming?"  
The tiny black-haired woman standing in the middle of all those impressive-looking warriors smiled. "You need not worry. "  
Her voice was hardly discernable from the clapping waves down on the shores. Once calm and peaceful, wild and roaring, powerful enough to rip a ship into peaces and drag hundreds of men down into the cold arms of Death, always beyond human power.  
"They are poud. They will never be able to bear the thought that we sent help to their enemies. I have word that their leader is desperately trying to gather information about our lands."_

_She did not seem to feel the tossing wind as she stood and bathed in her delight about the enemy's helplessness for a moment.  
"He won't hear a word, Lady", called the young Lord Cynric, his face shining with eagerness. "Your subjects will always be too loyal to betray you!"  
His obvious admiration was balm on her soul. Her satisfied smile deepened. "I know Iulius Caesar. He will come nonetheless.  
And he has no idea what is waiting for him …" _


End file.
